Panel Preview: Keynote Q&A With The Force Of Nature That is Garth Brooks

It’s telling that a recent article in The Tennessean attributed Nashville’s record-setting 14.5 million visitors in 2017 to two unstoppable forces of nature: a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event in last August’s solar eclipse; and the other, “country star Garth Brooks’ run of seven December concerts at Bridgestone Arena.”

Those seven sold-out shows in Nashville not only helped Music City’s tourism boom but also marked the end of Brooks’ record-setting, three-year run in which the iconic country superstar sold over 6.3 million tickets making it the biggest North American trek and biggest ever by a solo artist.

These outlandish numbers only helped burnish an already luminous career. Brooks is the first to receive seven RIAA Diamond awards for albums sales of over 10 million and the No. 1 selling U.S. solo artist with over 148 million albums sold. Meanwhile, the over-achieving continues: Brooks in November won CMA Entertainer of the Year honors for a sixth time and in December his single “Ask Me How I Know” become his 20th chart topper.

Fortunate for the Pollstar Live! conference, then, that on Thursday, Feb. 8, Brooks will sit down with Ticketmaster president Jared Smith and David Kells from Bridgestone Arena in a rare Keynote session moderated by Tim Leiweke, CEO of the Oak View Group (Pollstar’s parent company) in what promises to be an inspiring and elucidating discussion.

Indeed, his unique approach to touring, in which ticket prices are kept affordable and at one price while adding shows (sometimes two in one day!) from the road, is all but unheard of and keeps even the most veteran industry pro on their toes.

“It’s such a rush being on the call with Ben Farrell, Bob Doyle, Angela [Miles Powell] and the Ticketmaster team as we rolled from show to show,” says Bridgestone’s Kells. “Everyone on the arena side was waiting to see how many shows would be added and followed the fan excitement on Twitter after every show announcement.”

Kells isn’t the only one blown away by Brooks’ unprecedented run. “This tour’s been nothing short of spectacular,” says WME Partner and Co-head of its Nashville Office Rob Beckham “It’s amazing when you think that over the course of this tour, Garth has set multiple records, and then gone on to break them.”

Part of Garth’s success lies in his unique ticketing strategy. “Ticketmaster’s worked with Garth for over 20 years and it’s been a phenomenal partnership,” says Ticketmaster’s Smith. “He’s always working on new and better ways to ensure tickets get into the hands of fans, and makes an effort so that all fans get a chance to see him.”

At the heart of Brooks’ success is his preternatural ability to connect with people of every stripe, individually or teeming masses of fans.

“The age and demographics of the audience range from 5-70 years old,” says co-manager Bob Doyle. ‘They stand for two-and-a-half hours, and then some, and knowing the words to every song.”

Co-manager Randy Bernard concurs.

“Garth has boundless amounts of energy and an extraordinary ability to reach everyone in the arena,” he says, “Anyone you talk to when they leave the building says the same thing: ‘I felt he was singing just to me.’

On a more personal level, each member of Team Garth has stories of his kindness and generosity. Longtime promoter Ben Farrell recounted a small but telling gesture: “I’ll never forget when Garth brought my young daughter on stage in Knoxville early one morning. He very patiently showed her around and it really touched me – but that was not one bit unusual for him.”

The Garth Brooks Keynote Q&A at Pollstar Live! is Thursday, Feb. 8, 2:45p.m.-3:45 p.m.